Investigation of Ceramic Membrane Fouling in MBR: A Comparison of Side-stream and Submerged Membrane

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems are considered a suitable approach for this purpose. However, the main challenge of these systems is membrane fouling. This study investigated the filtration performance of a ceramic membrane in two operating modes: side-stream and submerged. The impact of physical and chemical cleaning on fouling removal and filtration performance was evaluated. The results showed that total fouling in submerged and side-stream MBRs reached ۹۳.۶% and ۸۲.۳%, respectively. Reversible fouling rates were ۵۰.۹% and ۵۶.۲%, and irreversible fouling rates were ۴۲.۷% and ۲۶.۳%, respectively. Additionally, the levels of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) formed on the membrane decreased from about ۲۵۵ mg/gVSS to about ۱۲۰ in the submerged MBR and ۶۵ in the side-stream MBR. The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiency was ۸۸% for the side-stream MBR and ۸۲% for the submerged MBR. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) tests identified the components and compounds present in the activated sludge. FTIR and EPS analyses indicated that acidic compounds such as humic acid, and amine and hydroxyl-containing compounds such as polysaccharides, halides, and alkyl halides were present on the membrane cake layer, causing pore blockage and cake formation.

کلیدواژه ها:

Ceramic membrane ، MBR ، Membrane fouling ، Side-stream MBR ، submerged MBR